


The Urbz: Sims in the City

by sargriff



Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23979532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sargriff/pseuds/sargriff
Summary: Former party girl Kailee Hayseed moves to the big city of Miniopolis and discovers that living on her own is a lot harder than she expected. In this sassy retelling of The Urbz GBA, Kailee attempts to fight evil capitalism, time travels, and makes friends with a lot of interesting characters- including a hillbilly vampire, a philosopher construction worker, and a civil war ghost. She even figures out her sexuality and finds love along the way.
Relationships: Crystal/Player, Ewan Watahmee/Player
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Slave to the Grind

The Urbz : Sims in the City

CHAPTER ONE

It was a Friday morning in the bustling, busy city of Miniopolis. The pigeons flapped their wings through the air and the cars and busses whizzed and honked through traffic on the streets below. The sun was sitting in the eastern sky, shining golden light on the graffiti-covered skyscrapers. The scent of pretentiously expensive coffee wafted through the air of Glasstown, the city's business district. Pedestrians hustled up and down the sidewalks, eager to get to the cafes for their morning bagels and hopefully still get to work on time.

It was all distant background noise to Kailee Hayseed, who was sitting with her head in her hands on the roof of the King Tower, the city's tallest skyscraper. She had been there since the wee hours of the morning, scrubbing toilets and mopping floors, making sure the building was in tip-top shape. Now her task was to wash the outside of the windows, which normally, would've been a fine job for her to do. Normally she loved the satisfaction of squeegeeing those windows to pristine perfection, but right now she was nursing the worst hangover headache of her life. She had debated calling in sick earlier that morning, but her supervisor, Kris, wasn't very forgiving about skipping work. Kris also happened to own the couch that Kailee had been crashing on for the past two weeks.

The elevator dinged, and Kris —speak of the devil—walked right up to Kailee and stood there with her hands on her hips, looking expectantly at her subordinate.

Kailee stared back, not moving from her spot in front of the flower planters.

"What are you doing sitting around?" Kris demanded. "Go clean the windows!" Usually Kailee was able to take a break around ten o'clock, but for some reason Kris seemed on edge today.

"I'm still on my break, Kris," said Kailee.

"Yeah, well, break's over. It's not my fault you chose to go out last night and get drunk. Just get it done, alright?"

Kailee mumbled an agreement and sighed, grabbing her ball cap from the ground beside her as she stood up. Kris' face relaxed slightly.

"You know, I can lock this elevator so you'll be trapped up here forever," she said with a smirk.

Kailee chuckled. "Bring it on, I'll survive up here just fine."

Kris snorted as she went back towards the elevator. "I uh, need to talk to you once you're finished. Come find me after."

_Probably another pointless chore,_ she thought to herself. Once Kris was out of sight, she reached into her pocket and popped an Aspirin into her mouth, swallowing with a cringe. _At least I came prepared._ She put her ball cap back on, pulling her brown ponytail through the hole and grabbed her soap bucket and window squeegee and headed towards the platform. Her head pounded with every step, but she pushed through just like she had done for the first half of her shift.

A few hours later, Kailee was finished cleaning the windows, and her headache had almost completely disappeared. She was locking away the supplies in the closet beside the elevator when the doors opened. Kris walked out.

"You got something on your hat," she said, pointing at the smudge of white pigeon poop on the back of Kailee's hat.

"Ugh, I know." She looked back at Kris. "I thought you told me to find you. Now the fun part is over, thanks a lot."

Kris sighed. "Kailee, I need to talk to you."

"You are talking to me."

"They're letting you go."

Kailee laughed. "Finally!"

Kris didn't say anything. She looked down and scratched the back of her neck.

"Wait, you're not kidding. Oh my god, what?"

"I know you've only been here for two weeks, but the boss told me to kick you out today." She looked apologetic, an expression that rarely appeared on her face.

"Why would Mr. King fire me? I thought he liked me." She thought back to her work performance from the past two weeks, but then it dawned on her; he found out that she had come to work hungover. "Look, I know I'm in rough shape today, but I still did all my jobs."

"It's not that, I didn't tell him anything." Kris shook her head. "Mr. King sold the building apparently last week and disappeared on a cruise or something. He just left a voicemail this morning."

"Damn. Who bought the building?"

"Some rich guy from Sim Valley named Daddy Bigbucks—I don't know his real name, but Mr. King seemed to love calling him that. He closed it down today and is fired all of Mr. King's staff, including me."

Kailee stood in shock for a minute. How was she going to get back on her feet now? She had only just moved to Miniopolis, and had barely 400 simoleons in her bank account. How was _Kris_ going to survive? She had been working at the King Tower for like, two years. Now they were both going to have to find new jobs. Kailee figured that Kris would probably be fine, she at least had a solid resume. But Kailee? All she had on her resume was mowing her uncle's lawn from when she got kicked out of her parents' house for partying too much. Oh, and a solid _two weeks_ of custodial work at the King Tower, which was now sold.

"Maybe it's time to move back to my uncle's farm," Kailee said.

"Oh god, no. You still have my couch, alright?" Kris put a reassuring hand on Kailee's shoulder. "I know a few people in this city that can help us both with finding work. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Kris." She sighed in relief, thankful she didn't have to go back to the Hayseed farm and deal with all of _that_ craziness. (But that story is for another time.) It made Kailee feel slightly better that Kris wasn't overly freaked out about the situation.

"We can talk more about this later, but you still have a few hours left of your shift. Here's a list of jobs you can pick from." She handed a piece of paper with various cleaning jobs scrawled on it to Kailee. "I'll be in my office, cleaning things out."

Kris went to her office— if you can even call it that— to clean out her random belongings, while Kailee started away at the job list. It was mostly things like tending to the plants in the lobby, dusting surfaces, vacuuming rugs, and anything else mundane and tedious that Kris could occupy Kailee with. She didn't want to think about her new fears of not finding work and ending up starving in some back alley.

She had only been living in Miniopolis for a few weeks, and was crashing with Kris Thistle for the past bit. Kris was a high school friend who had moved here directly after graduating. Kailee, on the other hand, spent her time after graduation being wild and partying, and then getting sent away to the farm. Boy, was that ever a change. After about a year, Kailee got tired of feeding the chickens and mowing the lawn and still having an 11pm curfew, and called Kris, who said as long as she could keep a job she would help her out.

Kailee and Kris were both considered to be "cool" back in high school. They hung out with the other cool kids, went to parties on the weekend, and were both on the basketball team. Kris grew out of her party phase, however, and Kailee didn't. As soon as she moved to the city, she hit up a few bars with some other high school friends and fell back into her old habits. But that didn't matter to her, or disappoint her. All Kailee wanted was to live her own life according to her own rulebook, as most other 20-year-olds want. She wanted to live life, meet new people, and have wild experiences. Maybe get a tattoo or something.

Kailee was also attractive, which added to her "cool" factor. She had long, wavy brown hair, green eyes that sparkled when she smiled, and freckles dotted across her nose and cheeks. She dressed sporty-casual, and tried to buy the good brands. Now that she was making her own money, she couldn't quite afford name-brands anymore, and resorted to shopping at thrift stores to find whatever suited her best. But she discovered that she liked the things she found at thrift stores immensely better than things she had ever found at the mall with her parents' money. She felt less like a cookie-cutter cool kid, and more like herself. This was why she enjoyed being on her own so much, she could finally make these decisions for herself without the pressure of other people's opinions.

Kailee continued on with her list of jobs until the end of her shift well into the early evening, and knocked on Kris's "office" door.

"Come in."

Kris's workspace was in a tiny janitorial closet on the second floor of the building, and compared to the ritzy law offices occupying that floor, it was a dump. Normally it would've been overflowing with random junk on her tiny desk and spilling with random books and tools on her bookcase, but it was actually organized into a few cardboard boxes.

"So, I talked to Mr. King on the phone while you were working." Kris looked up from her boxes with a glint of juicy gossip in her eye. "Apparently he sold the building for an all-expenses-paid-trip to Paradise Island."

"What?"

"And a _yacht."_

Kailee blinked. "What?" she repeated.

"I know." Kris shook her head. "I knew Mr. King was getting old, but he can't be that stupid, can he? King Tower is worth way more than a vacation and a _yacht._ "

"Why would he agree to that?" Kailee had only met Mr. King once, but he seemed like a reasonable guy, certainly not the type to get swindled out of a business deal.

"No clue. This Bigbucks guy must be one hell of a salesman." Kris chuckled. "But now Mr. King is freaking out, saying we should run him out of Miniopolis."

"Oh my god, what is this, a mafia movie?" Kailee laughed at the idea of the two janitors intimidating some rich guy mafia boss with weapons made from old mops.

"Apparently. Anyway, let's get out of this stupid place already." Kris stacked up her boxes and reached into her pocket for her keys. She furrowed her brow and patted her empty pockets, looking around the tiny closet. Then realization dawned on her face. "Shit."

"What?"

Kris looked at Kailee with a pained expression on her face. "I don't have my keys. I know exactly where I left them too, they're in the breaker room. I had to get a few things from there."

"And the breaker room locks itself," Kailee added solemnly.

"I can't leave this building unlocked, Mr. King _and_ Bigbucks would kill me." Kris thought for a moment. "Unless…"

"Am I supposed to say 'Unless what?'" Kailee quipped.

"Shut up, I'm thinking." Kris paused for a moment. "I know Lily Gates keeps a spare set of building keys in her office somewhere. Do you still know how to pick a lock?"

"A secret mission! I like the sound of this," she replied sarcastically.

Kris smirked. "I thought you would."


	2. "Get Out of Jail Free" Card

The Urbz: Sims in the City

CHAPTER TWO

It was lucky that Kailee still remembered how to pick a lock. She had picked her parents’ locked bedroom enough times when they had hid her car keys in there to punish her for her wild behaviour. Thank _god_ those days were over. It was the early evening in the King Tower, and all of the employees from the law firm had gone home. Apparently they didn’t work that hard in the evenings.

“Aaand, got it,” she said to herself as she slipped into Lily Gates’ office. She shut the large double-doors behind her and walked around the room, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Being somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be was sort of exciting —someone could bust down the door at any moment. Lily’s office was large and decorated, classy paintings on the wall and an ornate rug in the middle of the room. “There definitely wouldn’t be a key in there,” she muttered to herself as she walked past the filing cabinets. She scanned the bookshelves, seeing familiar crime titles such as _Murder in Pleasantview_ and _Crisis Barn_. Somehow, from the few times Kailee saw Lily Gates, she didn’t really seem like the mystery-novel-reading type. She seemed more like the type to read the obituaries of the newspaper every day. Maybe the Bible. She spotted a twenty-simoleon bill on the shelf and stuffed it in her pocket. Turning to the desk beside her, she scanned the surface, which was neat and orderly—the complete opposite of Kris’s old desk.

She opened the top drawer, and among the paper clips and staples there was a small key ring with two keys on it. Presumably one key to the building, and a spare key to Lily’s office. Kailee grabbed the keys and closed the drawer, and was about to go to the door when she heard footsteps outside. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she froze in her tracks, praying to God that it wasn’t Mr. King or Lily Gates. The door handle started turning and Kailee quickly skirted behind the desk and crouched into a ball.

“Yes, sir, I have the building plans in my filing cabinet.”

“Very well, then. Thank you, Lily.”

Kailee tried to hold her breath as she distinguished the voices. Obviously the female voice was Lily Gates, but she didn’t recognize the gruff male voice. She heard Lily ruffle through the papers and tabs in her filing cabinet, and then push it shut.

“Here we are, the blueprints. There are a few things here I want to make note of, let me grab a pen.”

She felt the footsteps come closer to the desk and she tried to squish under the desk, but Lily’s swivel chair was in the way. She squeezed her eyes shut. She was going to get busted.

Lily gasped. “What in God’s name?”

Kailee opened her eyes and saw a shocked and angry Lily Gates standing over the desk, mouth agape and eyes wide. Her blonde hair was wrapped into an uptight bun, and she was dressed in a monochromatic blue power suit. Kailee felt like a deer in the headlights, and couldn’t think of anything to say for once.

“Lily? What is it?”

Kailee slowly stood up, putting her hands in the air, gripping the keys in her right hand. She saw the man by the door, he was tall and plump, with white hair and a scowl permanently scarred on his face. His bushy eyebrows lowered and he narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?” he spat.

“This is one of the janitors. She works with Kris,” Lily interjected.

“Worked. Not works. Kris doesn’t work here anymore,” the man said. “I laid off all of Harlan’s former employees.”

_Harlan … Harlan King? As in Mr. King?_ Kailee thought to herself. Then it dawned on her. _Oh my god,_ this _is Daddy Bigbucks?_

“Since you would have been laid off, you clearly have no reason to be lurking around in my building after hours, and certainly not in my business partner’s office.” He flipped open his cell phone and put it to his ear. “Good thing I have the detective’s number on speed dial,” he said, staring at Kailee with an uncomfortable intensity. He didn’t even seem upset that she was here, but she knew that his next actions wouldn’t be very understanding or forgiving. His eyes narrowed in on the set of keys in Kailee’s hand.

“Yes, Detective Mann? Come down to the building immediately. We have discovered trespasser and thief in Lily’s office.”

Lily turned to Kailee and stuck out her hand. “I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

“Building keys? What building keys?” Kailee’s brain finally un-froze and she was back to her sarcastic ways. She handed the keys to Lily, who snatched them and dropped them in her tiny purse.

Bigbucks snapped his phone shut and turned to Lily. “Detective Mann will be here any minute to collect this thief and let her spend the night in jail.”

“Great, just like the board game,” Kailee said.

Bigbucks chuckled. “Well, it appears we have a comedian on our hands. Clearly, I can’t have someone as clever as you on the loose. You might have seen too much already.”

“Ooo, scary. Too much of what?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Nothing illegal. I just plan to turn Miniopolis into … a theme park, if you will.” His thin lips slithered into a devious smile.

“A theme park?” Kailee didn’t understand what the significance of that was.

“I plan to buy every single square inch of this dumpy little city and turn it into something much more sophisticated and savvy. People will have to pay to _enter_ any of my buildings, they will have to pay to even come near me. Doesn’t that sound fun?” He chuckled, a deep guttural noise that sounded like it was straight out of a super villain movie. Simoleon signs were practically flashing in his beady little eyes.

Kailee snorted, trying to hold back her laughter. Was this guy even real? He must have been kidding, right? “Yeah, I’m sure that’ll work _great_ for you.”

“It has worked! It _is_ working. And the beautiful part is, it’s not illegal!”

At that moment, Detective Mann barged into the room, his gun aimed and ready to fire. “Nobody move! This is the MPD!”

Lily rolled her eyes and shot a glare at the detective. “For goodness sake, Detective,do you always have to be so dramatic?”

Bigbucks put his hand on the detective’s gun and lowered it slowly. “Detective Mann, this is the young punk kid guilty of theft and trespassing in my building. Make sure you deal with her so she doesn’t put the rest of the city in danger."

The detective, a short round man with a moustache walked right up to Kailee, turning her around and putting her in handcuffs. The metal was cold against her wrists, and she realized that while this wasn’t the first time she had broken into a locked room, this was certainly the first time she had ever gotten arrested. “Great, another thing to cross off my bucket list,” she muttered.

“You have the right to remain silent!” The detective grabbed her elbow and pushed her out the door. Kailee looked back and saw Lily shaking her head at the detective’s antics, and saw Bigbucks smirking as he watched her leave.

***

Kailee stared at the brick wall of the holding cell she was thrown into by Detective Mann. There was a small cot in the corner and a tiny room attached with a toilet. A small barred window was letting in the the evening sunlight, which was a lot nicer than the light coming from the fluorescent bulbs along the hallway. Kailee was tired and hungry, and wanted nothing more than to go home to Kris’s couch. Even her uncle’s dusty old barn seemed appealing at this point.

Kailee had been left alone while the detective was off doing God knows what. Mann had told her that she could pay her bail if she wished, and when Kailee heard how much she would have to pay, her stomach felt heavy and her heart sank. She couldn’t even afford to pay rent, let alone pay for her freedom. Kailee thought about Kris and wondered if she had hidden herself, or slipped out of the building somehow when Bigbucks and Lily showed up. Why hadn’t Kris picked the lock to Lily’s office herself? Or at least showed up when she undoubtedly heard the detective bust the door down. Kris could have at least tried to help explain why they were trapped in the building. Some friend she was.

Mann appeared from around the corner, and looked Kailee up and down from the other side of the bars. He held a clipboard and a tape recorder in his hands, and was ready to start asking questions. “How are you feeling, kid?”

“Great, thanks for asking,” she said sarcastically.

Mann stared at her, not blinking. He looked down at the notes on his clipboard. “I’m sure, Ms. Hayseed, that you remember trespassing into Ms. Gates’s office. Don’t you?”

She rolled her eyes. “This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”

“Hey, if you don’t want to be stuck in here, you’re going to have to answer a few tough questions. Are you ready to cooperate?” Mann had a stern look on his face.

Kailee sighed. “Yes.”

“Alright, first question. Where were you on the night of August 16th, 1990?”

Kailee flinched. Did she hear him right? “Um, I would’ve been a kid.”

“Dang. I don’t think I’ll ever solve _that_ case.” He scratched his head and thought for a moment, then came back to reality. “Okay, next question. How long were you trespassing in the building illegally?”

“I wasn’t trespassing in the building. I had just finished my last cleaning shift there with Kris.”

“Oh, you worked there?” Mann scribbled on his clipboard. “Well, what were you doing in Lily’s office?”

Kailee paused to think for a moment. She figured she might as well tell him the truth, it’s not like she could make up a believable lie. “I was just looking for a key to the building.”

Mann scowled. “Do you really expect me to believe that? As a janitor, don’t you already have a key to the building?” He held the tape recorder closer to the cell. “What were you up to?”

“Kris is the only one who has keys to the building. She lost her keys, so she asked if I could look in Lily’s office for the spare building key.”

“How did you get into her office?” He pointed the pen at her dramatically.

Kailee crossed her arms. “I uh, picked the lock.”

“A-HA! That’s still illegal. Breaking and entering.” He scribbled furiously on his clipboard and clicked off his tape recorder. “Well, I have good news and bad news for you, kid.”

Kailee’s brows lowered. Good news? She could use some good news for a change.

“The good news is that someone paid your bail. He wanted to remain anonymous, but it looks like you’ve got a few friends in high places. Lucky you.”

Her heart jumped excitedly, and it was all she could do to keep from dancing around the jail cell. She was a free woman! However, she was also confused. She didn’t really know anyone in Miniopolis, so who could have paid her bail? It certainly couldn’t have been her uncle, or her parents way back in Sim Valley. Who could it have been?

“The bad news is that unless the charges get dropped, you’ll have to appear in court.” He looked up from his clipboard to meet her eyes. He had kind eyes, which led Kailee to suspect that the bad-cop thing was just a front. Mann pulled a jingling ring of keys from his pocket, and wiggled the jail door open. “You’ll be on probation for a while, meaning you’ll need to find yourself a job and a place to stay, and you’ll only be able to stay in this neighbourhood. But as long as you can behave, you’re free to go.”

“Thank you,” Kailee found herself saying.

Mann frowned. “Usually offenders don’t thank me for arresting them.”

_Yeah, I don’t know why I said that either_ , she thought to herself. “It felt like the polite thing to say,” she told Mann.

He furrowed his brow in confusion and blinked for a moment. “Right. Well, if you need to make any extra cash, feel free to turn in any recyclables here for a rebate. We also have a basketball competition on the roof of this building every Saturday and the winner gets a cash prize. Stay out of trouble, alright kid?”

“Um… yeah, alright.” Kailee felt relieved. She didn’t know who was watching out for her, but she was thankful she didn’t have to spend the rest of her life in prison, and she had a feeling that this mystery person would get her out of those criminal charges, too.

After getting her personal belongings back from the front desk, Kailee wandered into the warm summer air, stepping down the concrete stairs of the police station. She was in the neighbourhood known as Urbania, a grungy-yet-trendy section of the city. She had been here before with some of Kris’s friends at the pizza-serving dive bar called Slice O’ Life. It was a nice change from the snooty aura of Glasstown, the city’s high-end business district. It would be a lot nicer if she knew that she had a bed to sleep in, though.

Kailee spotted a payphone on the sidewalk not far from the police station. She pulled a couple of coins from her wallet and dialled a number. It rang a few times before it connected.

“Hello?”

“Thanks a lot for saving me, Kris,” Kailee said into the phone in her usual sarcastic tone.

“Oh my god, Kailee, what happened? I’m so sorry. I called Mr. King when I saw the cops pull up and he just told me to get out of there.” Kris sounded frantic and apologetic.

“You _called_ Mr. King?” Kailee’s eyebrows shot up. “Was he mad?”

“No, but he told me he would take care of it. I told him that you were in Lily’s office and that you weren’t doing anything wrong, we were just trying to get out of the building, and—“

“It’s okay, Kris. You can breathe. I got arrested, but someone bailed me out and the detective wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

“It was probably Mr. King,” Kris exclaimed over the phone. “Thank god he saved you. Do you need me to pick you up?”

“Well, here’s the thing. I’m on probation and I’m not allowed to leave the neighbourhood.” Kailee sighed. “You live on the other side of the city.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

They were both silent for a moment.

“Hey, I know who to call, alright? I know someone who can set you up with a bed to sleep in, at least. Don’t even worry about it.”

Kailee wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know…”

“Come on, it’ll be fine. You trust me, right?”

“No.”

“Shut up, dummy, of course you do. Just leave it to me, I’m gonna call my friend Darius, and he’s gonna help you out.”

“Okay. Thanks, Kris.”

“Stay safe out there, alright?”

Kailee hung up the phone and took a deep breath, still not really knowing where to go or what to do. She was definitely going to try her hand at the basketball competition tomorrow, but for now, she needed to figure out where she was going to sleep. Her stomach growled. Maybe she could find something to eat, first.

She headed down the cracked sidewalk towards the dive bar that she had been to before. She could really use a slice of pepperoni pizza right about now. And a drink. Maybe she could find a cute guy to spend the night with, too. That would certainly ease her worry of finding a place to crash. But Kailee wasn’t in the mood to be flirting or talking up some guy. She was tired, and hungry, and just wanted this crazy day to be over.

She thought back to her arrest and couldn’t help but wonder why Mr. King had paid her bail. She had only met Mr. King once, and wasn’t sure if she gave off much of a first impression, other than cracking a few of her sarcastic one-liners. Maybe he felt bad about selling the building and basically being the reason she no longer had a job. Whatever his reason was, Kailee was grateful that he rescued her. If only she knew his phone number, or at least somehow contact him to say thanks.

As she turned the corner, she saw a group of college kids stumble down the street, heading down the stairs into the underground pub. There was a college campus a few blocks over, and this seemed to be a popular hangout for those wanting to party instead of write English papers. The neon Slice O’ Life sign above the stone steps buzzed and blinked, unmistakably noticeable to anyone walking by. Kailee hopped down the steps and went inside.


	3. The Adventure Begins

Urbz: Sims in the City

CHAPTER THREE

The speakers blared with a song from Baby Ariel’s latest album, and university-aged kids flooded the tables and booths. It was a Friday night, and the bar was pumping with energy. The music pumped through Kailee’s bones, and it made her feel less crappy about her day. She snaked through the crowds and headed to the bar.

Ordering pizza and a beer, she silently nodded her head to the music and observed the crowd. A few girls were crowded around the arcade dancing game, cheering their friend on. A group of nerdy-looking college students were playing a board game at the corner booth. There was a small dance floor in the corner with an old-fashioned jukebox beside it. Across from the dance floor was a small stage, and a weathered brick wall as a backdrop. There wasn’t anything happening on the stage, but Kailee figured this bar probably featured live entertainment from time to time.

After she finished her pizza, she pushed the plate towards the bartender when someone sat down beside her. He was tall, muscular, with dark skin and a blue track jacket. When he rested his elbows on the bar, Kailee saw a few gold rings stacked on his fingers. He looked at her.

“I heard one of the Streeties was caught in the slammer,” he said to her. He stuck out a fist. “What’s up, I’m Darius.”

“I’m Kailee.” She awkwardly bumped his fist. “You’re Kris’s friend, right?”

“That’s right. Kris is a Streetie just like me. She’s part of my crew, know what I’m sayin’?”

“Streetie?”

“Yeah, Streetie. Your people, the group you run with.” His hand gestures enunciated every word he said. “You run with Kris, that means you run with me. We take care of each other.”

“Kris is part of a gang?” Kailee was surprised. _Does that mean I’m part of this gang, too?_ She knew Kris was into different things these days, but she had no idea she was involved in gang activity. Did she do drugs, too? Judging by the expensive rings and the gold chain around Darius’s neck, Kailee figured he was probably the leader.

“Call it what you want, I don’t like getting hung up on words. Point is, Kris told me you’re in a bit of trouble.” He eyed her up and down. “Now, I can help you out, but I gotta know that you’re going to stay loyal.”

Kailee didn’t say anything for a moment. She wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into, but she didn’t really have any other options. “What do you want me to do?”

Darius smiled. “I just want you to deliver this ring to a guy named Ewan Watahmee.” He pulled a small ring box out of his pocket and handed it to Kailee. She opened the box and saw a gold ring, much like the ones on his fingers, but this one had a sparkling purple crystal embedded in the centre. She almost couldn’t take her eyes off of it, and as she stared at it longer, she felt tingles all up and down her arms.

“Oh, and another thing.” Darius reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a handful of shiny, sparkly beads. They had the same mesmerizing glow as the purple crystal from the ring. “I’m starting to like you, so I’m going to give you some Beads. Hold on to these, and you can trade them in later for Xizzles.”

“Xizzles?”

“Yeah. It’s no big deal but,” he leaned in closer, “it’s sort of like a magic, voodoo thing. We try to keep it on the DL, us Streeties, but Xizzles can sorta help us out when we’re in trouble.”

Kailee furrowed her brows. She had never heard of this before. Was this some sort of secret society that she had someone been blind to her whole life?

“I know, it’s a lot to take in at first. My girl Crystal will fill you in some other time. Don’t sweat it. Just keep these safe.” Darius put the beads in Kailee’s hand and closed it shut, his strong hand over hers. As soon as the cool beads touched her skin, tingles of electricity jolted through her veins, causing her heart to jump.

“Whoa, what was that?”

“That’s the power. Trippy, right?” Darius chuckled.

Kailee looked up at Darius and smiled, still holding the beads in her hands. She felt invigorated by the power of the beads, and slipped them into her pocket. “So, you said you were going to help me out, right?”

“That’s right. I hear you need a place to crash for a while. Lucky for you, I got all kinds of connections in this city. There’s an apartment building down the street from here, and I scored a deal with one of my guys. As long as you keep up with the rent, it’s yours.”

Kailee’s eyes lit up with excitement and relief. “Oh my god, thank you.”

“I’ll grab a cheque from you tomorrow for the down payment, and don’t forget about that delivery for Ewan.” He tapped the ring box.

“Okay.” She had to think back to exactly how much she had in her bank account, but hopefully it would be enough.

Darius eyed her empty pizza plate and almost-finished beer bottle. “If you’re all done here, I can take you to your new crib.”

Kailee nodded and took the last swig of her beer, grabbing the ring box and following Darius through the crowd towards the entrance. A few of the twenty-somethings in the crowd nodded at Darius and gave him street handshakes. Kailee observed and followed behind him like a kid following his mom in the supermarket. She hoped that whatever gang she got herself into wasn’t something extremely illegal or dangerous … but a part of her hoped it was. She missed the rushes of adrenaline from her rebellious teen years when she would rip her parents’ car through the quiet streets with her friends, or skinny dipping at the neighbourhood pool in the middle of the night.

She followed Darius into the cool summer night, and they walked down the sidewalk in silence. He wasn’t the type to fill the empty air with pointless babble, unlike Kailee, who was a sucker for sarcasm and puns when conversations got quiet. But something about being in Darius’s presence made her want to act cool, his power slightly intimidated her.

They reached the apartment building, which was made of old run-down brick and fenced with small concrete planters. The door had a window, shining fluorescent light onto the concrete steps. Kailee followed behind Darius, who buzzed himself into the building, and took her up the stairs to the second floor. He pulled a key from his pocket and stuck it in one of the doors, wiggling it open. They stepped into the small, dingy apartment, and Kailee took a quick glance around.

The walls were white, cracked in a few places, and there was a small kitchenette separated by a half wall from the main living area. There was an old ratty couch against the wall, but other than that the living room was empty. The overhead fluorescent light flickered every thirty seconds.

“I know it’s not much, but there’s a bedroom and a bathroom.” Darius shrugged. “And I scrounged up some old furniture so you at least had a bed and a couch. I also had Kris send you some of your old things. They’re in a box in the bedroom.”

“This is perfect,” Kailee said. It definitely wasn’t as nice as Kris’s place, but at least it was something. She turned to Darius and smiled, looking into his dark brown eyes. “Thanks, Darius.”

He shrugged, a hint of a smile forming on his face. “We Streeties take care of each other. I’m happy to help, as long as you show kindness to us in return.”

“Well, I appreciate it.”

Darius left, leaving his number and also the address and phone number of Ewan Watahmee on the kitchen fridge. Kailee watched out the window as he sauntered down the sidewalk, his head bobbing and his hands in his pockets. His words echoed in her mind, _I’m happy to help, as long as you show kindness in return._ Kailee couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy at that, especially since she still wasn’t really sure what it meant or where Darius was coming from. He didn’t seem like the drug-slinging type, but those beads were something else entirely. She reached into her pocket and slipped the shiny purple beads around in her hand. There it was again, that jolt of energy. Kailee was never the type to be into witchy, new-age things, but this made her reconsider her beliefs. Maybe there was something more to these beads.

Putting the beads back in her pocket, she stepped into her new bedroom, the dark floorboards creaking. On the small twin bed sat a few cardboard boxes and her old duffel bag with her clothes, her personal items, and anything else she would have left at Kris’s house. On top of one of the cardboard boxes was a small white envelope. “What’s this?”

Kailee’s name was written in bold black marker on the sealed envelope. She tore open the envelope with her fingernail and unfolded the letter.

_Dear Kailee,_

_By the time you’re reading this letter, you’re probably wondering who it was that paid your bail to get out of jail. You’re probably worried about what to do next, and how to make money now that the King Tower has been sold._

_I am sincerely sorry about the loss of your job and your arrest, and I did all I could to at least get you out of your bail charges. I deeply regret selling the King Tower to Mr. Bigbucks, however I am afraid there’s nothing more I can do to get it back. I have made a terrible mistake. Mr. Bigbucks is a terribly cold and selfish man, and I have seen what he is capable of, and what he is planning to do to this city. This is where you come in, my dear._

_I have sent letters to some of my dearest friends and strongest allies, letting them know what Mr. Bigbucks plans to do to this city. We all have a civil right to protest and fight against it, as we must preserve the culture and history of Miniopolis. I am inviting you, Kailee, to join in and fight. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants, but we must at least stand our ground and protect our city!_

_Remember me!_

_Harlan King_

Kailee clutched the letter in her hands, unsure of how she could do anything at all to help take down Bigbucks. She didn’t have a job, barely had any money, and didn’t know very many people. But she figured that she at least owed Mr. King for getting her out of jail, so she decided that she would help however she could. Although … she wasn’t really sure what her next step was. There was no return address or anything on the letter, and she didn’t have any idea where Mr. King was located. She hoped that an opportunity would soon present itself.

She also owed Darius for finding her a place to stay. Kailee hated the feeling of owing people, being indebted without knowing how exactly to pay them back. However, she was grateful that both Mr. King and Darius were kind enough to help her, even though neither of them knew her very well. Back when she lived at the farm, her uncle always went on and on about how she was spoiled and unappreciative of everything he had done for her, to which she had usually rolled her eyes. Now, she wanted to be different, she wanted to be better. If it weren’t for Mr. King, she would still be sitting in that cold jail cell, and if it weren’t for Darius, she would most likely be sleeping in a back alley like a stray cat. Maybe it was time to change from her old, juvenile, party-girl ways, and become an adult.

Kailee went to sleep that night with the street sounds outside her window, the air conditioning sputtering on and off, but with a new sense of hope and excitement for the city adventures ahead.


End file.
